I offer a variety of program areas that address a range of issues and I approach each project with the same intention: to custom-design a program that meets the client’s stated objectives and produces observable, measurable, and sustainable results. Different clients need different things. One size does not fit all.

This flexibility also extends to my use of theoretical models, training tools, and activities. Drawing from a wide range of resources, I collaborate with you to select the ones most relevant and applicable to your real-world business issues. Some of the tools I use include assessments, training activities, books, articles, and Web resources.

The Insights Discovery® System
In my intercultural work, I often hear questions such as, “How do I know if my colleague’s behavior is due to his culture or personality?” and “Is that a cultural trait, or is she also considered an especially difficult (or wonderful) person in her own culture?” As useful as they are, there are times when cultural insights and frameworks are simply not enough to answer these types of questions and facilitate effective communication in my clients’ work teams. I realized a valid and reliable tool for illuminating personality style differences would be a powerful addition to my “toolbox” of resources.

The Insights Discovery system was developed in Scotland in the early 1990s by the father/son team Andi Lothian and Andy Lothian. This system, solidly based on the pioneering personality profiling work of Dr. Carl G. Jung, encompasses a simple model:
• Understand me
• Understand you
• Adapt to you to improve our relationship and my effectiveness

At its simplest, Insights Discovery identifies four groups of broad personality traits, referred to as Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green, and Cool Blue. Everyone has one or more of these “color energies” as our dominant, preferred styles of thinking, working, and interacting with others. The Insights Discovery Profile is a highly accurate and validated system for measuring the unique balances between these energies in any individual.

I was introduced to Insights by a good friend and colleague and attended an Insights accreditation program in early 2003. Since then, I have incorporated the Insights model and Discovery Profiles into several corporate team effectiveness programs I designed, as well as an orientation program for new students in an international management masters program, with consistently excellent results. Participants leave with deep insights into their own and their colleagues’ styles and communication preferences and the value those unique styles bring to their work teams.

The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
The Intercultural Development Inventory™ (IDI) is a statistically reliable, valid measure of intercultural sensitivity. Based on Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), the IDI was constructed and tested by Mitch Hammer.

I attended the first IDI qualifying seminar in 1998 and have since used the IDI and DMIS in corporate, academic, and non-profit settings. I often use the DMIS model as a framework for discussing individual and group intercultural competence. The IDI also helps assess levels of intercultural sensitivity prior to training and evaluate the development of a group of program participants over time.

In 1998, I created an interactive exercise to introduce the developmental stages of the DMIS model in a training context. Since then, I have presented this activity to participants in several IDI qualifying seminars, and many of my colleagues have adapted it for their own use. In 2007, a version of this exercise, adapted by Janet Bennett, was published in The Organizational Workbook: An Experiential Approach, Eighth Edition by Prentice-Hall Publishing.

Training Activities

Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes
Barnga simulates the experience of encountering people from other cultures and discovering they are operating under different “rules.” Through a simple card game, participants face ambiguity, communication challenges, and frustrations that accurately mimic the realities of intercultural communication.

I have used Barnga with groups as small as 10 or 12, and with several other facilitators in a group of more than 100 students. I continue to be impressed with the rich insights participants gain about themselves and their reactions in the face of uncertainty and communication difficulties. They can easily apply the lessons of the game to the real-life scenarios they are facing and develop specific strategies to employ when encountering cultural differences.

Cultural Detective Method and Materials
The Cultural Detective® series of training tools offers a new approach to understanding and collaborating successfully with people from other cultures. Using these tools, facilitators guide participants through the process of discovering core values of their own and other cultures. Participants then use these discoveries to decipher the intentions behind the behaviors they encounter with their colleagues from different cultural backgrounds.

I have incorporated the Cultural Detective into programs for university and graduate-level students and international corporate managers in the United States and abroad. The materials are easy to use and give participants a simple framework for analyzing intercultural interactions and developing sophisticated and solid recommendations for building cultural bridges.

Redundacia
Redundancia is a simple, elegant simulation that allows participants to experience what it feels like to communicate in a language other than one’s native tongue. I have facilitated Redundancia with groups as small as 10 and as large as 300, with consistently powerful results. The activity and debrief can be completed in as little as 30 to 60 minutes, but the impact is long-lasting.

Participants experience the discomfort, frustration, and challenge of trying to communicate in a second language, thereby gaining valuable insights into the experiences of their colleagues and classmates. They typically have no trouble turning those insights into relevant communication strategies they can apply directly to important intercultural interactions – quickly and productively improving the quality and clarity of their communication.

 

Working in the United States

Books

Favorite Books include:

Articles

Favorite Articles include:

Marketing

Web Resources

Favorite Web Resources include:

Videos

Favorite Training Videos include: